Robert Tychkowski, QMI Agency

DENVER - The Edmonton Oilers spent the last week trying to answer to a question that’s been answered every year for six straight years: can a mediocre small team beat a bunch of good, big teams?

After being hit for the cycle in a four-game series with Boston, Vancouver, Anaheim and Los Angeles, losing all four games and being shut out twice in a sobering six-day span, the latest verdict is in.

While there is some great skill in Edmonton, the makeup of the team is all wrong and has been since 2007. The top six isn’t big enough, the bottom six isn’t hard enough and the defence is neither, in addition to not being very good.